Month: January 2015

When is a resignation not so simple? We supported a client recently when an employee resigned, but later wanted to withdraw the resignation and remain with the employee.

The manager allowed the employee several days to be sure they were making the right decision, they still wanted to resign. They acknowledged the resignation and confirmed the termination date. Then 2 weeks before the leaving date they informed the manager that they were withdrawing the resignation and would be staying. Plans were in place to recruit a replacement, the team had been informed, the leaving card had been circulated.

What to do…?

The decision was taken that in the grand scheme of things it was in the best interests of the company and the individual to continue with the resignation. Once one has been submitted and accepted by the Company it is only by mutual agreement that this may be reversed.

If you need support in handling staff resignations, then please get in touch.

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So far this winter we have been, relatively, lucky enough to avoid severe rain, snow or ice, but with the unpredictable nature of the British weather anything is possible, from blizzards, to flooding to heat waves. Add to that the reported millions of pounds lost to businesses every time we have adverse weather then we would advise you ensure you have your bad weather policies up to date.

If an employee fails to turn up to work because of bad weather, as an employer, you are under no obligation to pay them, however, we would advise a little more flexibility on this. It’s important to show empathy with employees – particularly those that normally perform well – as research shows that this flexibility and trust will pay off in the long-term, with employees more motivated and going the extra mile when they are able to get to work.

Whilst it’s OK to have a strict policy in place to ensure employees try their best to get in to work, both sides need to be realistic about what’s possible. There is nothing in it for the employer to require the employee to spend all day trying to get in and still not getting there.

As an employer you should make clear in advance what employees are expected to do in the event they cannot make it to work. Employees need to keep in touch and demonstrate to their employer that they have made attempts to get in – they need to get the message across that they are not just ‘swinging the lead’, since this could upset colleagues as well as their bosses.

As an employer you need to carefully consider opportunities and options available if the weather conditions do stop employees making it in. Do they have the ability to work at home instead, could they make the hours up another time, could it be used as annual leave, is it more cost effective to shut the whole site down for the day?

We can provide you with a bad weather policy but ultimately only you know what will work for your business and your employees and in using a little common sense when it comes to interpreting this policy you help to keep a motivated a loyal workforce.

All these promises sound familiar? We, at Acorn Support, get many emails every week and read many articles claiming to be the next big thing to make your business a success. But ultimately there are only 3 ways your business is ever going to be any good and that’s through hard work, focus and having a product or service that people want and know about.

The hard work and focus is up to you but you can get help with getting your product or service known and that’s something we can help with. We are passionate about the benefits of effective networking (not just networking for networking sake), which is why the following article by Saffron Grant (http://www.changegives.com) we received by email yesterday was one of those that we did find beneficial, which is why we wanted to share it with you:

How to enjoy networking (Yes, I did say ENJOY it!)

I’d created a belief for myself that I couldn’t stand networking meetings. So I’ve actively avoided them over the years until I decided that it was time to blow that belief out of the water and discover what I was missing out on. After all, there must be benefits or they wouldn’t exist, right? So here’s what I did:

Used the ‘As if’ frame

From the moment I decided to go to the meeting I acted ‘as if’ I loved networking meetings. So far, surprisingly easier than I thought! I simply said to myself ‘I love networking meetings and people really love me!” and then acted from that position from that moment onwards.

I worked out what was in it for me

So I asked myself, if I am in a room full of complete strangers, what can that get for me? Again, surprisingly easy. I can make new friends. I can observe how other people behave and learn from it. I can practice explaining what it is that I do. I can practice rapport building. I can meet potential collaborators or people who offer something that I need. I might even (dare I say the F Word in this context?) have Fun.

I set myself a little project

I thought about a few things that I wanted to learn about that would genuinely help me. I wanted to learn how other people approach networking and I also wanted to find out how I can write a blog more quickly (it had previously been taking me a couple of hours per blog and I had heard from other people that they spent about 15 minutes!)

So this gave me something to start a conversation about that I was genuinely interested in. I was open about the fact that I wanted to learn what other people get out of networking and asked questions like “What does networking get for you?” This seemed to really get people thinking and also helped me discover other benefits that I hadn’t even thought about, for example to pick peoples brains for a new point of view or ask for advice, which I realised is what I was actually doing.

Unexpected bonuses – Light bulbs galore!

I came away from the meeting with a load of fantastic ideas for my business that I would not have had if I hadn’t been in that room at that time, bouncing off a completely new group of people.

If this has made you think differently about networking but you are still a little nervous then Acorn Support offer one to one coaching on the subject and have a public course planned for March 2015 – see our website for more details.